Renting a house or flat can be a different experience in Türkiye depending on the destination where you want to relish your holidays. But the main thing to keep in mind is that in holiday hot spots, where much of the accommodation is rented out through avenues such as Airbnb at highly inflated prices, there is an entirely different availability and price scheme that prevails during the off-season.

Renting for off-season

Many of the summer homes rented out for short-term stays in the high season, are available for longer rental times and at discounted prices through the off-season months of November to May. While this means that most times during summer, you will be expected to vacate the property. There are a lot of options for finding a wide range of accommodation at more affordable prices. As these flats are decorated to accommodate guests all summer long, they are furnished only for the guests and have all the appliances and accouterments any home would need.

There is also the option of renting a room or small flat in one of Türkiye's "Aparts," which are self-servicing apartments. While they can be basic, they are also larger in size and more accommodating than a hotel room, yet they are not as spacious as a full-on apartment. These can be some of the most affordable options for short or long stays in the off-season.

Year-long struggle

This also means that finding a year-long rental place is more challenging in summer holiday hotspots than in cities and elsewhere. It is in these months you should keep the search going if you want to rent a place for the whole year in tourist and coastal towns. For home hunters, it can feel as if you are racing against a countdown clock, ticking past each day toward summer when finding a year-long rental also becomes a tough job. Moreover, finding an unfurnished home is quite rare too.

These days, when urban to rural lifestyle migration is gaining momentum amongst remote workers, it has become quite customary for homeowners to request a full year's rent from the tenants. The demand for year-round accommodation is now so huge in popular summer destinations, that this is almost perceived as a norm, so don’t be surprised if these are the terms of negotiation.

Finding home down south

Foremost, one of the most successful ways to be resourceful in Türkiye is to use "word of mouth." Tell everyone you know and even those you don't, such as local retailers or potential neighbors in the area where you desire to live. You should ask them about what kind of home you are seeking and if they know of anything similar which is available. Similarly, expat Facebook groups are also extremely supportive and many holiday destinations have an expat social media community. The reason for this is that some homes are not put up on websites or offered to real estate agents to find tenants, instead the homeowner prefers to find someone they know through acquaintances.

Real estate agents can do wonders and more and more homeowners are veering toward directly handing over their vacant homes to professionals. Real estate agents will show you potential flats and prepare a contract for you, however, they will charge you a fee equivalent to the amount of one month’s rent, but these are all terms that should be discussed directly and at the beginning of signing a contract.

There is of course the most convenient option of searching for homes from your couch, i.e. over the internet. Websites such as Sahibinden.com, Airbnb and Sabah's Sarı Sayfalar are places to start. Sahibinden.com is a website where people sell many things, but they also put homes up for rent. Despite the name meaning "from the owner," in the real estate section, most times you will find the person of contact is an agent. Advertisements will also show whether the home is for rent by the owner "Sahibinden" or by an agent "Emlakçı." This is a popular site for house-hunting and the prices that pop-up can vary. But, don’t let them deter you, and keep in mind that some might be negotiable for longer terms.

Pounding the pavement while just walking around the neighborhoods you are interested in moving to is yet another effective way to hunt down a house for yourself. Some apartments and homes will simply hang signs up on their windows reading "Kiralık," which in Turkish, means "for rent." Referring to my top tip, it is entirely acceptable to ask local vendors and people in the community if they know about anything that is available. Gardeners, vendors at corner shops and even barbers are all potential people one could ask if they know of anything for rent.

Putting it in ink

It is always advisable to prepare a proper contract for any sort of rental agreement and especially if you are handing over a full year’s rent in advance. For this reason alone, it can be of benefit to work with a real estate agent, but you can also purchase contracts and sign them between you and your landlord. These contracts should contain the homeowner's identification information ideally a photocopy of that and the title deed, in Turkish "Tapu" to ensure the property is legally owned by the person you are signing the contract with.

All payments should be made according to the written terms and out in digits. Besides, the payment made for any furniture and appliances as a deposit to protect these assets are also items usually included in rental contracts here in Turkiye.